The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to
support the State Parks and Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission plan
to restore Malibu Lagoon. The 11-0 vote provided the last needed permit
approval before the rehabilitation of the brackish wetland can proceed
next summer.
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If you have ever been to Surfrider Beach, you probably have seen Malibu Lagoon. It’s where Malibu Creek enters the ocean, and is one of the last freshwater lagoons in the LA area. Unfortunately, the lagoon is in serious trouble. There’s not enough circulation, so the water is stagnant, and contaminated sediments and high bacteria levels seriously impair the habitat. We’ve been super involved in the restoration plan, and we will continue to be involved in the actual work. Check out Mark Gold’s thoughts on the restoration, and a recent LA Times story.
http://spoutingoff.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/another-malibu-morass/
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-malibu-lagoon-20101012,0,519664.story
The Santa Monica Pier has undergone an incredible turn around. It’s so family friendly and is absolutely the best place to take your kids on a Saturday afternoon. The food is good, the games are good, and of course, there is the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium! In no small part this is all due to Ben Franz-Knight, who runs the Pier and has been a huge force behind its transformation. Ben’s leaving to go run Pike Place up in Seattle (another must do if you haven’t been there), and we’ll miss him!
We all could live a little greener. But in Hermosa Beach, they’re actually building as green of a house as you can imagine. It’s called the Green Idea House, and it’s a place for people to go see all the technology (and lack thereof) that can make a house as environmentally friendly as possible. They’re just breaking ground, so make sure you don’t miss it! www.greenideahouse.com
This Undersea Voyager Project takes citizen scientists on trips in a glass bubble submersible that goes up to 900 ft below the surface! They travel all over the world, but right now they’re in Catalina, and they are even taking some Avalon school kids down to places that really have never been seen. They might even see things like undiscovered ship wrecks!
This group of four people (3 men and 1 woman) completed an awesome relay for charity, each swimming 22 miles from Palos Verdes to Catalina! Some of them swam in the middle of the night, but all of them swam in the open ocean with sharks, dolphins, whales and other marine life. Think about how much effort it would take to swim 22 miles in the open ocean. Now think about doing it in October. Without a wetsuit. They were raising money for Jay Nolan Community Services, which provides services for people with autism and other developmental disabilities. Incredible endurance for a very worthy cause. http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/25181.asp?q=Four-Swimmers-Attempt-Simultaneous-Catalina-Channel-Crossing-for-Charity
Tomorrow marks a milestone day for environmental rehabilitation in Malibu, Surfrider Beach and Santa Monica Bay. The much-needed restoration of oxygen-starved Malibu Lagoon faces one more regulatory obstacle Wednesday — California Coastal Commission approval. Because the project has gone through an extensive public involvement and CEQA process, including a legally unchallenged EIR approved in 2006, one would have hoped that the effort to remove polluted sediments and rebuild the lagoon would remain free of controversy.
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Sanity was restored last week to the California State Fish and Game Commission’s efforts to establish a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Southern California. The Schwarzenegger administration has long made it a priority to meet the requirements of the Marine Life Protection Act, which calls for establishing a statewide network on MPAs.
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Marking an encouraging trend, California beachgoers basked in a fourth consecutive summer of excellent water quality, according to the 2010 End of Summer Beach Report Card® released September 29, 2010 by Heal the Bay.
The Report
- 2010 Summer Report Card
PDF 300kb
Press Releases
Online Beach Report Card
In its latest survey, Heal the Bay assigned an A-to-F letter grade to 453 beaches along the California coast, based on levels of bacterial pollution reported from Memorial Day through Labor Day. This summer, 92% of sites received A or B grades, which is similar to last year.
But in a very troubling twist, state funding for routine water quality testing along California beaches may be eliminated next January due to the statewide budget crisis. If regional ocean-testing agencies can not secure the necessary funds, they will be forced to end water quality monitoring and the associated warning signs and public notification systems. Any cutbacks in testing pose a significant health risk for the millions of beachgoers who enter California oceans each year. Heal the Bay will continue to work with state and local governments to ensure funding for these critical programs.
In another development, Heal the Bay this year expanded the reach of its popular Report Card to the
Pacific Northwest. Working with local monitoring agencies, the organization issued its first set of
summertime water-quality grades for 154 beaches in Washington and Oregon. Overall, Pacific Northwest ocean users enjoyed very good water quality.
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County beaches were relatively clean this summer, with 79% of beaches receiving an A or B grade (similar to last year). Some of the beaches of most concern in L.A. this summer: Avalon Beach on Catalina, Long Beach’s Colorado Lagoon, Will Rogers at Temescal Canyon and Cabrillo Beach.
The perennially polluted Santa Monica Pier showed dramatic improvement this season, most likely from a number of water quality improvement projects over the past year. Santa Monica Pier received an A grade for the reporting period, which is a marked improvement from previous D and F grades.
Orange County
Orange County once again enjoyed great water quality this summer, with 97% of beaches receiving an A or B grade. Poche Beach and Newport Bay at Garnet Avenue received F grades, while perennially polluted Doheny Beach received a D grade. All historically poor beaches in Dana Point (Baby beach) received A grades.
San Diego County
San Diego County had excellent water quality, with all 77 monitored beaches winning an A or B grade (76 As and 1 B).
Ventura County
Overall water quality at beaches throughout Ventura County was excellent again this summer and among the best in the state. All 40 monitoring locations received A grades. Unfortunately, that figure is down from the 54 historically monitored locations, due to budget cuts.
Santa Barbara County
Water quality at beaches in Santa Barbara County was fairly good this summer, with 88% of monitored beaches receiving an A or B grade. Goleta Beach (C) and Arroyo Burro (F) were the only locations that did not earn an A or B grade.
In Central and Northern California, beach water quality was generally speaking very good. The beaches that received D or F grades include: Cowell Beach and Capitola Beach in Santa Cruz, Aquatic
The Beach Report Card is based on the routine monitoring of beaches by local health agencies and dischargers. Water samples are analyzed for bacteria that indicate pollution from numerous sources. Heal the Bay analyzes the data and assigns easy-to-understand grades to each beach. The better the grade a beach receives, the lower the risk of illness to ocean users.
Users can check updated weekly grades at www.beachreportcard.org. Heal the Bay offers the searchable online database as a free public service. Users can find out which beaches are safe and unsafe, check recent water quality history and look up details on beach closures.
Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card is made possible by the generous support of The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, simplehuman, Grousbeck Family Foundation, Carlson Family Foundation, Inc., and Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA). Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card is in its 20th year.
I’ve been going to temple since I was 3 years old. Although our
family is very involved in the University Synagogue community, I’m
certainly not a devout and strongly observant Jew. In fact, I always
felt more Jewish by culture (lots of meals at Junior’s, Canters and
Zucky’s growing up) than by faith.
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